Parenting for Primates

What parent hasn't wondered “What do I do now?” as a baby cries or a teenager glares? Making babies may come naturally, but knowing how to raise them doesn't. As primatologist-turned-psychologist Harriet J. Smith shows in this lively safari through the world of primates, parenting by primates isn't instinctive, and that's just as true for monkeys and apes as it is for humans.In this natural history of primate parenting, Smith compares parenting by nonhuman and human primates. In a narrative rich with vivid anecdotes derived from interviews with primatologists, from her own experience breeding cotton-top tamarin monkeys for over thirty years, and from her clinical psychology practice, Smith describes the thousand and one ways that primate mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, and even babysitters care for their offspring, from infancy through young adulthood.Smith learned the hard way that hand-raised cotton-top tamarins often mature into incompetent parents. Her observation of inadequate parenting by cotton-tops plus her clinical work with troubled human families sparked her interest in the process of how primates become “good-enough” parents. The story of how she trained her tamarins to become adequate parents lays the foundation for discussions about the crucial role of early experience on parenting in primates, and how certain types of experiences, such as anxiety and social isolation, can trigger neglectful or abusive parenting.Smith reveals diverse strategies for parenting by primates, but she also identifies parenting behaviors crucial to the survival and development of primate youngsters that have stood the test of time. What parent hasnt wondered What do I do now? as a baby cries or a teenager glares? Making babies may come naturally, but knowing how to raise them doesnt. As primatologist-turned-psychologist Harriet J. Smith shows in this lively safari through the world of primates, parenting by primates isnt instinctive, and thats just as true for monkeys and apes as it is for humans. In this natural history of primate parenting, Smith compares parenting by nonhuman and human primates. In a narrative rich with vivid anecdotes derived from interviews with primatologists, from her own experience breeding cotton-top tamarin monkeys for over thirty years, and from her clinical psychology practice, Smith describes the thousand and one ways that primate mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, and even babysitters care for their offspring, from infancy through young adulthood. Smith learned the hard way that hand-raised cotton-top tamarins often mature into incompetent parents. Her observation of inadequate parenting by cotton-tops plus her clinical work with troubled human families sparked her interest in the process of how primates become good-enough parents. The story of how she trained her tamarins to become adequate parents lays the foundation for discussions about the crucial role of early experience on parenting in primates, and how certain types of experiences, such as anxiety and social isolation, can trigger neglectful or abusive parenting. Smith reveals diverse strategies for parenting by primates, but she also identifies parenting behaviors crucial to the survival and development of primate youngsters that have stood the test of time.

"Chartier and Joe were expecting again and I was dreading it. It was always the same. I would be awakened at midnight by the screams of terrified baby monkeys being forcefully rejected by their parents. I would leap out of bed and race into the monkey room, where I would carefully pry the babies' fingers from the cage wire, to which they were desperately clutching, or gingerly lift out the bodies of the ones who had been killed. When they survived the rejection, I rescued them. I warmed and cleaned them, and then I fed them, wrapped them in a soft furry cloth, and placed them on a heating pad. After the crisis was over I'd realize that I had once again signed on for two months of caretaking for two infant cottontop tamarins. I would be sleep-deprived and grumpy; I would be unable to go out for more than a couple of hours unless I hired a monkey-sitter or took the babies with me. What can I do, I thought, to teach Chartier and Joe how to parent their own babies?" —Chapter three of Parenting for Primates

Contents Illustrations Prologue 1. Learning to Parent 2. The Primate Recipe for Mothering 3. The Diversity of Primate Fathering 4. The Babysitters’ Club 5. Weaning Wars 6. The Quiet Years 7. Emptying the Nest 8. Parenting with Partners 9. Parenting Solo 10. The Dark Side of Parenting 11. How Much Do Parents Matter? Who’s Who among Nonhuman Primates Notes Acknowledgments Index In a narrative rich with vivid anecdotes derived from interviews with primatologists, from her own experience breeding cottontop tamarin monkeys for over 30 years, and from her clinical psychology practice, Smith describes the ways that primates care for their offspring, from infancy through young adulthood. Parenting for Primates is a delightful combination of hard facts and good stories about us and our close relatives. Harriet Smith shows us superdads, devoted and abusive parents, and blended families among nonhuman and human primates too. An important and timely book.